TAROUBA, Trinidad – New Zealand quietly disposed of minnows Papua New Guinea by seven wickets to make an equally meek exit from the Twenty20 World Cup on Monday.
A team which had reached the final of the 2021 edition and the semi-finals one year later, mustered only their second win to finish third in Group C behind hosts West Indies and Afghanistan, after easily chasing down PNG’s 78 with nearly eight overs remaining.
“It’s just finished for us, obviously. Having said that, it took a long time to start and then in a matter of days, we were sort of not in contention which was frustrating,” New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said afterwards.
“We wanted to start the campaign strong and we weren’t able to do that. We played against a couple of very strong sides who are very well equipped in these conditions and unfortunately it was the difference in our first two games.”
Opting to bowl first at the Brian Lara Stadium, New Zealand got a devastating spell of three for none from fast bowler Lockie Ferguson’s four overs, while seamers Tim Southee (2-11), Trent Boult (2-14) along with leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (2-29) all chipped in with a brace each.
Only three PNG batsmen reached double figures but none passed 17 as the innings folded in the final over.
In reply, the Black Caps lost Finn Allen to the second delivery of the chase without a run on the board, wafting at one from left-arm pacer Kabua Morea (2-4) and nicking behind.
And when Morea got Rachin Ravindra to hole out to deep mid-wicket for two at 20 for two at the start of the fifth over, New Zealand were in a spot of bother.
However, Conway struck two fours and three sixes in a top score of 35 from 32 deliveries to lead the recovery.
CMC
Scores:
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 78 off 19.4 overs (Lockie Ferguson 3-0, Tim Southee 2-11, Trent Boult 2-14)
NEW ZEALAND 79 for three off 12.2 overs (Devon Conway 35; Kabua Morea 2-4)
New Zealand won by seven wickets.
Player of the Match: Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand)